Star Wars: Mortex
by Knight of the Green Banner
Summary: In the wake of the Second Galactic Civil War, and the battle against the Dark Side Entity called Abeloth, a lone Jedi is dispatched to the poverty and crime ridden Mortex sector to act as their new Marshal; responsible for maintaining law and order across dozens of planets and thousands of light-years of space.


_Star Wars and related material are the property of Lucasfilm LLC. I wish to thank George Lucas at this time, for creating a wonderful, colorful Galaxy-Far-Far-Away for my imagination to play in._

A long time ago in a galaxy far,

far away….

Four years have past since the end of what historians now call the Second Galactic Civil War. With the exception of a few minor conflicts, what few tensions there were between the newly re-organized Galactic Empire and the Galactic Federation of Free Alliances have cooled. And now with the further disruptions caused by the Force entity Abeloth behind them, the Galaxy at large is seeing what many hope will be a lasting peace.

The citizens of the Mortex Sector, long crippled by abject poverty but historically isolationists, have now been granted admittance with full senate representation in the Galactic Alliance. They have petitioned the New Jedi Order Masters Council to aid them in establishing law and order in their territories. In response, a lone Jedi Knight sets out to begin the first term as their new Sector Marshal….

Chapter One

He sat motionless on the floor in the center of the cabin. His legs were crossed, but in a not uncomfortable manner. His hands resting gently on his thighs, his eyes closed. His lightsaber was sitting neatly on the carpeted decking to his right, just outside of arms reach. With metered breath, he took in and exhaled the scented air around him.

The incense, so he was told, was a mixture of spices and sage from worlds spanning the galaxy. He had purchased it maybe an hour or two earlier from a Talz merchant who swore on every holy script he could think of, that the pleasing aroma would aid in meditation. That sentiment was only voiced after the Talz had had observed the distinctive weapon hanging from his customers blue flight suit. A quick scan revealed not even a trace of narcotics, because you could never be sure about some merchants…or some marketplaces.

With a few more breaths, he began his meditation in earnest. He started with his focus centered inside himself. Then, according to his custom, he would then slowly push his senses further and further out.

Starting with himself, he was Korde Mardel, a Jedi Knight. The eldest of six children; one younger brother and four younger sisters, and the only Force sensitive member of the family. His Father was Darce Mardel, a wealthy but minor Corellian shipping magnate who owned a small fleet of cargo haulers that specialized in running express freight from the core worlds to the rim. His mother was Cyndel Panteer Mardel, the daughter of an Alderanian Diplomat and a distant cousin of Leah Organa Solo.

The two met as children during the rebellion, and were married after the Second Liberation of Coruscant. Korde himself was born aboard the aptly named _Mardel Home_, a Corellian Class VII bulk freighter, during an emergency supply run to New Republic at the Battle of Kessel toward the end of the Yuuzhan Vong invasion. He spent his earliest years there in palatial vessel that served as both merchant fleet flag ship, and family home.

The next momentous event of his life took place at the age of four. That was when his parents began to suspect the nature of their little boy, when a box of spare parts mysteriously became a fully functional servitor droid. As destiny would have it, they were already enroute to deliver supplies to the Jedi Praxium at Ossus. Young Korde was then tested by Grand Master Skywalker himself, and offered a chance to attend the academy.

Loving the stories his mother told him, of the Jedi Knights of the Old Republic, Korde was ecstatic. His parents however, were remarkably less so. Still, his life so far in the Mardel Inc. Migrant Freighter Fleet had been devoid of children his own age, and so both Mother and Father consented.

Soon, Korde found himself apprenticed to the Jedi Knight Rosh Penin, a stolid man with a hint of the brashness of his youth still about the eyes. This short haired, gently smiling teacher seemed largely unassuming with the exception of two things. First, though it was known that Jedi Pennin would soon be given the title of 'Master,' he wore a single thin braid such as the padawan apprentices did in the Old Jedi Order. He said it signified to himself, if no one else, that no mater what titles he might hold he would always consider himself a 'Learner.' The other thing, a darker reminder, was a metal cybernetic replacement for his left arm. Though their were certainly more natural looking prosthetics, he kept this one as a symbol to all, of what the Dark Side cost someone. Al of his garments , ceremonial Jedi robes included, were cut at the shoulder so that it never be covered.

Though Korde had other teachers and friends in his life, these were the three that came easiest to his mind whenever he asked himself who the people were who had the most influence on the man he became; Father, Mother, and Master , and he owed all three a great deal.

Korde expanded his meditative perception to include his immediate surroundings. His two droid companions were doing pre-flight maintenance on the _Cyndel's Ranger_, his extensively modified Starspeeder 1000. Unlike the other ships of her class, all of them built exclusively for the Star Tours Passenger Liner company, the _Ranger_ was almost two meters longer. Her slightly "stair like" original design was changed with the dorsal hull leveled to match it's highest point in the stern, and her bottom leveled to match the lowest point in the bow. The ten hatches (five along each side) were removed and replaced with reinforced bulkheads, and a single hatch that lead to small airlock on the port side, just behind the astromech socket. The result was a ship that looked more box like than the original design; less aesthetic, but more functional, which in Jedi Mardel's mind had an aesthetic all its own. The interior of the ship saw the removal of seating for forty bipedal humanoids, and the edition of a really small galley, an even smaller refresher station, and a bunk that folded up into the starboard bulkhead.

Through Korde's connection to the Force, he could sense Jinx beeping out a musical tune outside, as he inspected the _Ranger's_ stabilizers and thruster-nozzles. Officially designated R5-J1X by the Industrious Automatons Corporation, the little astromech droid's color scheme matched the _Ranger's _crimson base with bright blue striping and highlights.

Jinx started existence with a short but eventful military career with the Alliance to Restore the Galactic Republic. It lasted all of three months, and ended when the pilot he was assigned to crashed his Y-Wing Fighter before the battle of Hoth, and blamed what was purely pilot error on the innocent little droid. Labeled a "jinx," he was deactivated and shipped to Ord Mandell. Decades later, his current mater bought him for a rather inexpensive price.

Jinx's differences from the stock R5 series were few but significant. His astronavigation package and hyperspace jump buffers were upgraded by the Rebel Alliance to match that of an R2 or R3; droids that were actually designed for calculating jumps to hyperspace. The cheap servos and motivators that plagued the R5's were replaced with those of the later R7 series. Also his sensors were upgraded with a Corellian Security investigations package, and a holonet/comlink devise was installed. Korde had made those three upgrades himself, along a few more that were not legal, strictly speaking, on all planets.

The biggest difference, however, was the attitude. The Normal R5 was reported to be short tempered. Jinx was not. Jinx was anything but. His predisposition to "sing" (approximating musical number) by using the range of sounds available to astromech droids was a perfect match to his bubbly disposition. Neither of those aspects was a product of Korde's modifications, but came naturally to the little droid, if you could call an A.I.'s higher heuristic functions natural.

The other droid, an OOM-Pilot Series droid, 27-NX, called Nix, was currently filing the flight plan, while simultaneously going over the pre-flight checklist for the fourth time. Originally built during the lead-up to the Clone Wars by the Trade Federation, Nix looked every inch like the later B-1 stock battle droids made infamous during that conflict. And just like Jinx, he had few "after market" adjustments, courtesy of Jedi Mardel. His processors containing basic Pilot/Utility droid programming were expanded to include B1 Battle Droid combat subroutines and T-Series Tactical Droid subroutines. A tandem processing unit was also installed allowing him to utilize a RA-7 Translation Matrix and secondary dedicated memory bank with over four million forms of communication. Those modifications were made so that Nix could be re-classifies as a protocol droid with piloting and utility functions, as owning as a battle droid was often frowned upon. Just like Jinx, he too was fitted with a built in holonet/comlink interface. And in addition to that, both droids had their casings hardened against electromagnetism, making restraining bolts relatively useless.

As Korde continues to stretch out his awareness through the force, he could sense the myriad of 'mental voices" that made up the crew and passenger compliment of the _Mirth of Mirax_; the Imperial Interdictor Star Destroyer that was owned by Booster Terrik's Errant Venture Lines. It seemed to Korde to be a metaphore for the galaxy itself. What was once dedicated to war was now peaceful pursuits. But would it last?

It had only been two years since the Dark Side entity known as Abeloth had sunk the galexy into conflict. Before that it was the Second Galactic Civil War, the Invasion of the Yuuzhan Vong, The First Galactic Civil War. These were overlapped with smaller incursions such as by Svi Ruuhk, The Diversity Alliance, and a few others. Before that were the Clone Wars. All these were just in recent history.

'_The Second Galactic Civil War.' If Historians were actually counting, it was closer to the fourth or the fifth, _was Korde's thought on the matter. Even now it was enough to disturb his meditation. I f he dwelled on it long enough it would arouse his anger. _And Anger might lead to hate…_

Korde brought himself back to the here-and-now, when he realized that he was reciting unconsciously, the Mantra of the Jedi Code. "Emotion, yet peace. Ignorance, yet knowledge. Passion, yet serenity. Chaos, yet harmony. Death, yet the Force." He preferred the archaic translation of the Mantra to the more modern one. It seemed more flowing; poetic even, and he desperately needed a beautiful, life affirming concept to hang onto. When he opened his eyes, he saw nix standing in front of him, patiently waiting.

"Sir?" The droid prompted. Korde smiled reflexively. When Korde had brought the two toned tan and blue battle droid online a few years earlier, the mechanically nasal voice and propensity to call everyone 'Sir,' truly annoyed him. He promised himself that he would change the behavior patterns …eventually. But now he'd grown accustomed to Nix's voice, and "Sir" suited him better than the usual "Master" that droids took to calling people.

"I'm ok, Nix." Korde reported. "Status?"

"Our departure time with _Mirth of Mirax_ flight control has been scheduled for twenty minute from now at 0732 Galactic Standard Time. All flight systems and electronics are operating within specified guidelines, and Jinx reports that the portside stabilizer was three degrees out of alignment. He will likely have it repaired by now, that is if he hasn't started his second act."

Korde laughed at that. He arose from the deck, and took the few moments that that walking that walking to the pilots station allotted him, to stretch his muscles. He flipped the switch that activated the comlink to Jinx. He was about to speak when he stopped to listen to the little R5.

The song was one made famous by Seal Ga'lor, the young pop star, flavor-of-the-moment whose meteoric rise to fame would likely end in the middle of next year. Korde's taste in music tended more toward classic Jatz from the early Old Republic Era. Still, Jinx's cover of the Twileki songstress' piece, was as faithful as the astromech could make it, and in Korde's own opinion was better than the original. Unfortunately, they had a schedule to keep.

"Alright, Twinkle-treads, time to close the curtain." Korde alerted Jinx. "We take off in seventeen minutes."

Jinx responded in true artist fashion. He ignored him and finished the song; complete with dance moves. At the end, the crowd that had gathered from the mechanics and passers-by, to watch the antics of the R5, explored into applause. He then activated his repulsor lifts so that he could access the astromech socket, and prepare for takeoff; but not before giving a bow.

When Korde saw that Jinx was secured in the socket, and was starting to access the ship's systems, he activated the engine startup sequence.

"Sorry to pull you away from your adoring fans, Jinx," The Jedi spoke into the comlink. "But we have an appointment to keep. Besides, it's best to leave them wanting more, right?" The Jedi then turned to the Battle Droid in the co-pilot seat. "Nix, patch me through to Flight Control, please."

"You're connected." Nix responded, after opening the comms frequency. "Go ahead, Sir."

"_Mirth of Mirax_ Flight Control, this is _Cyndel's Ranger_, reporting ready for departure._"_ Korde then waited for a response.

"Understood, Cyndel's Ranger. We're sorry to hear it. We were about to extend your astromech a contract at the Casino stage." This remark elicited a laugh from both sides of the link. Until, that is, Korde realized to whom he speaking. The voice was not the softer feminine voice of the flight controller that he had heard earlier. This voice was much more masculine, and was scarred by age and vice. Upon this realization, Korde put a name to the voice he recognized. He tried, with great success, to hide his disappointment.

"Mister Terrik. Everything is going well, I hope?" Booster Terrik had been something of a business rival to Marel Shipping…back when there was a Mardel Shipping.

"Well, you know how it goes kid." Booster returned, in a cordial tone of voice. "You know these Imperial Class ships, if you don't stay onto of them, they will fall apart around you."

Korde had actually intended to fly under Booster's sensors this trip. It wasn't that there was any animosity between them, quite the opposite. It was just that Booster had provided several large favors for him in the recent past. And though Terrik's business interests these day's were _mostly _legitimate, the old smuggler had enough fingers in morally questionable pies to give the young Jedi pause. He fully intended to pay Booster back for his help…during that time, but Korde wanted to know what he was getting into when Booster came to collect.

That, and there was the fact that Booster had the ear of his son-in-law Jedi Master Coran Horn. Master Horn had the ear of Grand Master Skywalker and Master Penin. Actually…

Korde let out a short breath. "They asked you to keep an eye on me didn't they?"

Booster didn't require Force sensitivity to know who "they" were, and to his credit he didn't even attempt a denial. "Asked? No. It was more like an order." There was moment of silence, which the old man broke.

"Hey, kid, they're worried about you." Booster said. "And frankly, so am I." That statement brought Korde up short. Booster's solicitude towards children, and younger ones was near legendary among the Jedi community. And even though his heart was most assuredly pre-occupied with his own grand children, their mental recovery from the encounter with Abeloth had remained slow and ongoing., he still found time and energy to act as surrogate grandfather to the children at the Praxium.

As for masters Horn and Penin, Korde had fought at both their sides during some of the more recent conflicts. More so, master Penin had assumed the role of Korde's Legal guardian upon his parent's deaths.

As for Skywalker, Korde was unsure of why the Grandmaster of the New Jedi Order was taking such an interest in such a single Jedi...but he had an idea. Most people saw Grand master Skywalker as the quintessential and proverbial knight; powerful but gracious, both just and merciful, larger than life yet also humble. Korde knew that he was every molecule that people thought he was, but also he was a man in pain. How could he not be? In loosing two beloved nephew that he had helped to raise, one of them to the Dark Side? In losing his wife whom he loved to distraction? In nearly loosing the rest of his family in the events of the past few years

And all of this was added to guilt he must have felt for not being able to stop those things from taking place. That kind of guilt had to weigh heavily on a man with Skywalker's reputed senses of honor and reasonability. If it didn't, then Luke Skywalker would not have been the man people thought he was. As much as Korde might still be angry with him, he had to give him at least that. And "at least that," in Korde's mind, explained the Grand Master's worry about the young Jedi and his new assignment.

"Well, Mr. Terrik, you can thank 'them' for me. I thank you as well, but I'll be fine." Korde said, returning his thoughts to the conversation at hand. "Still, I'll contact you when I get to Almenia."

"Almenia, got it." Booster said over the comlink. "Why?"

"I'm likely going to need re-supply from time to time, and I don't want to have to wait on the Galactic Alliance's time table." Korde replied. "I'll know more about what I'll need when I get there."

"Understood. I'll link with Mirax and see what ships we can send out that way." The old smuggler returned. "I wish we could take you the whole way, kid, but…"

"I know, _Mirth of Mirax_ is headed for Jaminire."

"Right. I'll hand you back to Aerena. Good luck, kid…and may the Force be with you."

"And with you, as well Mr. Terrik"

And with that, Booster passed the comlink back to the friendly voiced Corellian who served as his flight controller. "Good morning _Cyndel's Ranger_. We will be returning to normal space in the Lianna system in five minutes with a short rest for hyperspace recalculation. At that time you will be cleared to depart. Please remember to keep your speed inside the docking bay at five kilometers per hour, and follow all directions given by the flight droid in front of you." At that, a silver droid flew into his field of vision through the large front view port, and stopped in front of the bow of his ship. It was short, thin, and cylindrical with the exception of the bulbous repulsorlift at its bottom. On it's head was a flashing yellow beacon, and two glow rods were held in the manipulator arms at it's sides. "Do you see him, sir?"

"Yes Mam, we see him." Korde said as he looked over to Nix, who nodded..

"Very well, _Cyndel's Ranger_, please stand by."

A few minutes later, Korde felt a slight shudder as the massive ship came out of hyperspace. As if on queue, the flight droid seemed to perk up, and it beckoned them to follow. Such a system was likely only necessary when a large number of ships were in the super liner's exit pattern. But the _Ranger_ was the only ship that seemed to be leaving , at least from this docking bay as _Mirth of Mirax_ had four of them located in the ventral "blisters" that used to house the massive gravity well generators, back when the ship was still in military service.

The flight droid, with his beacon and glow rods guided them from their docking level, level five, to a central corridor, to a shaft that led 'up' to the first docking level which opened out into space just beyond a thin force field that kept in the atmosphere. Just before they reached the bay door, the flight droid motioned them to stop. The voice of Aerena the Flight Controller was heard again over the comlink. "_Cyndel's Ranger_ you are now cleared to depart docking bay two, Galactic Standard time is 0711, the local time in Lianna City is 1117, with the standard temperature at a cool twenty nine degrees. We at Errant Venture Lines and the _Mirth of Mirax _thank you for your business. You are now cleared to depart. May the Force be with you."

Korde would have responded, but the comlink had already closed. "Well, lets get underway Nix." The young Jedi said, as the silver flight droid in front of them moved to allow the _Ranger_ to leave. "I'm engaging thrusters to half."

The course that he laid took them over the dorsal section of the super liner and gave them an excellent view. One of the four durasteel 'blisters' on the dorsal side (matching the ones on the ventral side), specifically in the front starboard, was replaced with a transparasteel dome; the Bazaar Shopping Complex that Korde had visited earlier. They flew past _Mirth of Mirax's _command tower, where Booster Terrik must have been watching them from the Main Bridge.

It was that thought that forced Korde to expand the list of people with the most influence on his life. He realized that Terrik was a matched set with _Mirth of Mirax_; ships of war attempting peaceful pursuits. As Jinx informed him that the hyperspace course was clear to the Almani system, Korde wished bith the old smuggler and his ship the best of luck. Then he made the jump to hyperspace.


End file.
